Papers of the NAACP

Founded Feb. 12. 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest, largest and most widely recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, campaigning for equal opportunity and conducting voter mobilization. (from http://www.naacp.org/ )

Papers of the NAACP: Personal Correspondence of Selected NAACP Officials. Microfilm records of the NAACP, 1919-1939. 17015a Microfilm The complete list of papers available can be found by searching the library catalog by title for "Papers of the NAACP". Use the reel guides to determine which reels are of most use: E185.5.N276 L473 Pt.2, (2 West, Microform Guides).

Sample Microfilm Resources Ready to Use

The MSU Libraries owns hundreds of microfilm reels of information on the African American experience. This section provides some tips on how to locate them, plus a sampler of some of our holdings.

Microfilm collections can be found by searching the MSU Libraries online catalog, MelCat (a network of participating Michigan libraries), or or WorldCat (searches thousands of libraries). For example try a title or keyword search with phrases such as "Black studies research sources" and browse through the results.

Or you may want to try a subject search with one of the following subjects and look for microfilm collections (unless you want to explore the other print and electronic resources as well)

United States. Army Air Forces -- African American troops -- History -- Sources.

United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation -- Archives.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American -- Sources.

World War, 1939-1945 -- Participation, African American -- Sources.

If the records indicate microfilm, then we have the contents. Always check to see if there is a finding guide to make searching through the microfilm easier. If the record only indicates a guide, we may not have the corresponding microfilm. However microfilm may be available from the Center for Research Libraaries or through interlibrary loan. Stop by the reference desk or contact the Ethnic Studies Bibliographer to determine availability.

All of the following microfilm are located in the Microfilm Collection next to the Photocopy Center on 2 West of the Main Library. The corresponding finding guides are shelved in the Microform Guides Collection.

Bayard Rustin papers. Reproduces the papers of Bayard Rustin made from the originals in the A. Philip Randolph Institute, New York N.Y., which were later transferred by the Institute to the Library of Congress. 29006 Microfilm | E185.97 .R87 1988 Guide

The black code of Georgia, U.S.A.28972 Microfilm Compiled and prepared by W.E.B. Du Bois for the Negro Exhibit of the American Section of the Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900. Contains laws from 1732-1899

COINTELPRO : Black Nationalist Hate Groups. 14914 Microfilm reels 5-8 - The FBI Counterintelligence Program file contains details of the bureau’s attempts to "expose, disrupt, and neutralize" groups that J. Edgar Hoover perceived as threatening to national security. The material in this file, spanning COINTELPRO’s existence from 1956 to 1971, is especially valuable for the view it offers of the U.S. political climate in the 1960s. The file is organized in sections that reflect the bureau’s interests, among them the Communist Party of the USA, Black nationalist "hate" groups, White "hate" groups, the Socialist Workers Party, and Cuban groups supporting Fidel Castro. Note: Not sure whether these reels actually cover the black nationalist hate group section, but the entire collection is also available online as part of Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s.

FBI file on A. Philip Randolph [microform] . 27550 Microfilm | Guide to the microform edition : E185.97 .R27 F2 1990 Guide - Philip Randolph (1889-1979), an outspoken black labor leader, is perhaps best remembered as the organizer of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. He was elected a vice president of the AFL-CIO in 1955. This file includes memos and correspondence, most dating from the 1940s with some coverage into the early 1960s.

FBI file on Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. [microform]. 28039 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E748.P86 F3 2000 Guide - Controversial politician and clergyman Adam Clayton Powell was active in many labor organizations and "militant" groups. He was elected to New York City council in 1941, and first elected to U.S. Congress in 1945. In 1967, Powell was excluded by the House of Representatives for alleged misuse of House funds, contempt of New York court orders concerning a libel judgment against him and conduct unbecoming a member.

FBI file on the Black Panther Party, North Carolina [microform] 27545 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition: E185.615.B562 1986 Guide - Documents in this file, spanning the years from 1968 to 1976, are mainly surveillance reports and investigative and legal memoranda, but also include Black Panther Party publications, transcriptions of speeches by black militant spokespersons, digests of FBI phone intercepts at party headquarters and some of the party’s internal records and correspondence. Also available online as part of Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s.

FBI file on the Committee for Public Justice [microform] 19512 Microfilm - The Committee for Public Justice (CPJ), an affiliate of the ACLU, was formed in 1970 to voice concern over the "period of political repression" it perceived the nation to be entering. After the CPJ denounced the FBI, the bureau enlisted conservative media figures to help neutralize the impact of the committee's findings. This file continues after Hoover's death in 1972, including efforts by Directors L. Patrick Gray and Clarence M. Kelley.

FBI file on Elijah Muhammad [microform] 27951 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : BP223.Z8 E454 1996 Guide - Born Elijah Poole in 1897, "the Messenger of Allah" assumed leadership of the movement later known as the Nation of Islam in 1934. The file contains material the FBI collected to show immoral, subversive, or criminal activity in order to discredit him as a leader of the Nation of Islam.

FBI file on the Highlander Folk School [microform] 27546 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : LC5301 M65 F3552 1990 Guide - The Highlander Folk School was established in Monteagle, Tennessee, in 1932 by Myles Horton, a native Tennessean who wanted to "provide an educational center in the South for the training of rural and industrial leaders." The school initially educated union workers and in the 1940s, began accepting African Americans into its program, and emphasis shifted toward aiding southern rural workers. This change raised suspicions among conservative groups, and eventually the school's charter was revoked because state law required private schools to be racially segregated. This FBI file, spanning 40 years, is rich in school-produced materials and local news clippings. It will interest labor historians, civil rights scholars and researchers investigating postwar anticommunism.

FBI file on the Ku Klux Klan Murder of Viola Liuzzo [microform] 27544 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.98 .L541 A3 1990 Guide - Like the "Mississippi Burning" investigation, this was one of the first cases to test the new Civil Rights Act. The file on this important case contains FBI letters, memoranda, teletypes and more.

FBI file on Malcolm X [microform]. 10 reels.10595 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.97 .L5 F23 1996 Guide Malcolm X, one of the black militant movement’s most controversial figures, joined the Black Muslims while serving a prison sentence and, on his release in 1952, became a minister in Elijah Mohammed’s Nation of Islam. Later breaking with his group, he converted to orthodox Islam and founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity. The FBI opened a file on Malcolm X in 1953 and continued surveillance until his assassination in 1965. This file, encompassing 2,300 pages, gives insight into the various factions and leaders of the black militant movement during the 1950s and '60s, as well as details on the FBI's attempts to neutralize it. Also available online as part of Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s.

FBI Investigation File on Marcus Garvey [microform] 17853 Microfilm - The FBI investigation File on Marcus Garvey is an informative source on his role as a spokesman for black nationalism, on the American black community of the 1920s, and on the origins of the black social protest and separatist movements.

FBI File on the Moorish Science Temple of America [microform] : 28967 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : BP62 .B56 G85 1998 Guide - The FBI investigated the Moorish Science Temple for its alleged hostility toward capitalism and its efforts to incite revolution. This collection is organized into geographic sections demarcating FBI headquarters and various field offices, including Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia. It is filed chronologically within the geographic sections. Materials contain correspondence, memos, reports, interviews and pamphlets.

FBI File on the Murder of Lemuel Penn [microform] 28988 Microfilm - This FBI file documents the investigation and trial of murdered African-American U.S. Army Reserve Officer Lemuel Penn. It contains a large number of newspaper clippings and numerous reports concerning Klan-related activities, including statements from eyewitnesses and photographs of areas where Klan meetings were held. It also includes correspondence with Lester Maddox, Thurgood Marshall and Lyndon Johnson. The FBI file on the murder of Lemuel Penn is an important resource for studying the civil rights movement, segregation and the Ku Klux Klan.

FBI File on Muslim Mosque, Inc. [microform]. 27590 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : BP187.65 .U62 M875 1996 Guide : Founded by Malcolm X after his break with the Nation of Islam, Muslim Mosque, Inc. was a politically-oriented movement affiliated with the orthodox Islamic religion. The file contains memoranda by Special Agents in Charge and supporting documentation. Also available online as part of Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s.

FBI file, N.A.A.C.P [microform]. : File covers dates 1941-1957. 27548 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.5.N276 G83 1990 Guide - These files on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) cover the years 1923 to 1957, and reflect bureau investigations into the NAACP's supposed connections with the Communist party.

FBI file on the National Negro Congress [microform]. : Covers the dates 1936-1952. 27543 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.61.F35 1987 Guide - Among these files, materials are synopses of news reports regarding the National Negro Congress (NNC), announcements of its meetings, copies of its constitution and membership rosters and the bureau's investigative reports.

FBI file on Paul Robeson [microform]. 27798 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.97.R65 F4 1987 Guide - The FBI's investigation of, and dissemination of information about, actor/singer Paul Robeson and his Communist party association contributed significantly to the ruin of his career. This file includes all the bureau reports on Robeson and his wife, news clippings and transcripts of his telephone conversations.

FBI file on the Reverend Jesse Jackson [microform]. 22614 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E840.8.J35 G8 1988 Guide - The files of the FBI on Jesse Jackson span the years 1967 to 1984 and include the original investigative file on Jackson detailing his early career as head of "Operation Breadbasket" and PUSH (People United to Save Humanity); records of various threats made against him; documents from class-action suits in which he joined against the FBI, CIA and City of Chicago; and information regarding FBI and Secret Service protection of Jackson as a presidential candidate in 1984.

FBI file on Roy Wilkins [microform]. Covers the years 1958 to 1969.27547 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.97.W69 F251 1990 Guide - Roy Wilkins, a prominent member of the NAACP, served as acting secretary and later as executive secretary. He was a key figure in the prevention of Communist infiltration of the NAACP. Provided is information on Wilkins's connections to such figures as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Paul Robeson. The file is also rich in Black Panther Party documents critical of Wilkins.

FBI File on the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [microform] 27542 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : E185.61 .U465 1991 Guide: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was organized in 1960 to encourage voter registration for blacks in the Deep South. Under Stokely Carmichael, the group pushed for economic enfranchisement and advocated black supremacy. The FBI maintained a file on the SNCC because Communists were believed to be infiltrating its leadership. This file comprises reports from nineteen cities, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco. Each section is in chronological order, spanning 1964 to 1973. The file contains addresses, membership, and information on groups believed to associate with the SNCC. Also available online as part of Federal Response to Radicalism in the 1960s.

FBI File on Thurgood Marshall [microform] 28984 Microfilm | Guide to the microfilm edition : KF8745 .M34 F35 2001 Guide - This lightly excised FBI file is of great value to those studying African-American history and the civil rights movement.

The Martin Luther King, Jr., FBI file. This file, designated number 100-106670 by the FBI, chronicles the career of Dr. King and the civil rights movement during the sixties. Included are the Bureau's responses to charges of harassment that emerged after King's death. 18762 Microfilm | E185.97 .K5 1984 guide (another copy of the guide is located in the Main Library Stacks)

Papers of the NAACP : part I, 1909-1950. Microfilm reproduction of meetings of the board of directors, records of annual conferences, major speeches, and special reports. 17015 MicrofilmReels 8, 9, 11, and 12. To be used with A guide to Papers of the NAACP : part I, 1909-1950. E185.5.N276G85

Paul Robeson collection [microform]. Includes correspondence, speeches, newspaper and magazine excerpts by and about Robeson from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 23970 Microfilm |E185.97.R63 W4 1991